


along the edge where the ocean meets the land

by Lire_Casander



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M, M/M, Mentions of Cancer, Mentions of Chemo Sessions, Mentions of Death, Mentions of drugs, Mentions of hospitals, mentions of 9/11, mentions of pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26893606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lire_Casander/pseuds/Lire_Casander
Summary: owen strand through his family’s eyes, one drabble at a time
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Michelle Blake/Owen Strand
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31





	1. more than just a little misunderstood

**Author's Note:**

> title from _round here_ by counting crows
> 
> written for [owen strand week 2020](https://owenstrandweek.tumblr.com/post/628378483222085632/owen-strand-week-2020)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> michelle thinks owen is overreacting just a little bit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owen strand/michelle blake
> 
> title from _round here_ by counting crows
> 
> no warnings apply
> 
> written for [owen strand week 2020](https://owenstrandweek.tumblr.com/post/628378483222085632/owen-strand-week-2020) **day 1: aging sex symbol + owen & michelle**

She has watched Owen avoiding mirrors ever since his first diagnosis, but in the beginning she chalked it up to his fear of losing more of his hair due to chemo. She even encouraged him by praising bald men – it hadn’t been a lie back then, and it isn’t a lie now. She’s always found bald guys attractive.

She’s always found Owen Strand attractive, even though she never thought she could have him all for herself.

But this? This is just getting out of hand.

“This is ridiculous,” she tells him when he covers the last of the mirrors in their home with a dark sheet. “It’s just a few wrinkles here and there, Owen. They mean you’ve lived.”

“They mean I’m aging,” he complains, tugging at the seams of the sheet so it covers more of the mirror.

She steps closer to him and grabs his hand, taking it away from the mirror. He turns around so he’s facing her, and she drops a soft kiss on his cheek.

“You’re a sex symbol,” she laughs, placing a kiss on his nose.

“And aging sex symbol,” he huffs.

“ _My_ aging sex symbol,” she amends, finally eliciting a laugh from him.


	2. walking on a wire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tk muses about what it means to accept buttercup in his life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owen strand, tk strand, buttercup
> 
> title from _round here_ by counting crows
> 
> mentions of cancer, mentions of death
> 
> written for [owen strand week 2020](https://owenstrandweek.tumblr.com/post/628378483222085632/owen-strand-week-2020) **day 2: family first + owen &tk/buttercup**

TK feels his heart sinking the day his father steps into the station with a dog on a leash. And not any kind of dog – one with the exact type of cancer that his father’s currently fighting.

He watches his father treating Buttercup like another member of their mismatching family. And it hurts – it reminds TK of what he’s slowly losing to illness and time.

He can’t take it, so he fakes. He fakes a disdain that kills him from the inside, even if Owen _wants_ TK to love that slobbery mess of fur and big eyes. He fakes it but he’s already fallen, even though he associates Buttercup to cancer and loss and he doesn’t think he can bear it.

Because loving Buttercup means opening his soul to heartbreak and grief.

Because Buttercup means something bigger than just a warm friend who wants to be by his side at all times.

Because loving Buttercup means accepting that his father might one day leave him, but Owen would at least have given him the only thing TK’s always craved – a family.

TK knows that’s the kind of love to pass over generations, shining and bright, just like his father’s smile.


	3. out of the lightning dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mateo can’t believe his luck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owen strand, mateo chavez
> 
> title from _round here_ by counting crows
> 
> no warnings apply
> 
> written for [owen strand week 2020](https://owenstrandweek.tumblr.com/post/628378483222085632/owen-strand-week-2020) **day 3: teamwork makes the dream work + owen & the team**

Captain Strand looks over to where Mateo is standing, holding back the crowd along with a few police officers who have come down to manage crowd control. Mateo is sweating under the blazing sun, but he’d rather be sweating _inside_ the burning building his team is working on right now. He just doesn’t think he’ll ever get the chance to prove his worth.

“Chavez!” he hears, Captain Strang gesturing at him to move from his spot and approach him. “I need you!”

He blinks at his captain, who’s now looking down at him with a mix of amusement and urgency in his features. “Where do you need me, Captain?”

“Inside,” Captain Strand instructs.

“With the rest of the team?” Mateo doesn’t believe he’s heard right.

“Of course, Mateo!” the Captain huffs out, patting his shoulder. “You’re part of the team! Go help Paul and Marjan.”

Mateo doesn’t need to be told twice. He picks up his tools, puts on his helmet, and dives into the first fire of his whole career feeling he’s part of something bigger than himself. Nobody before had ever trusted him enough.

Good thing Captain Strand came to Austin to prove them all – including Mateo – wrong.


	4. walk in the air between the rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> judd is there to catch owen when he falters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owen strand, judd ryder
> 
> title from _round here_ by counting crows
> 
> mentions of cancer, mentions of chemo sessions, mentions of drugs, mentions of pain
> 
> written for [owen strand week 2020](https://owenstrandweek.tumblr.com/post/628378483222085632/owen-strand-week-2020) **day 4: sassy owen + after chemo + owen’s one liners + the fire!fam to the rescue**

Judd can always tell when Owen’s having a bad chemo day.

It’s like a superpower – just like when he’s able to tell when Grace’s hiding something from him or when he can call out TK on cheating at foosball. Judd can tell when the drugs aren’t working, or when they’re working a little _too_ much.

When Owen tries to enter his own office, Judd knows he’s having a hard time dealing with everything.

He watches Owen swaying a bit, holding himself against the door frame as though the world has spun way too quickly. Judd reacts a fraction of a second too late, and he can only slide down to the floor with his captain as he trembles against the wooden surface.

“I can’t do this,” Owen mutters. “On days like today, it’s all too much,” he confesses.

Judd throws an arm around Owen’s shoulders and holds him while Owen sags against him. He manages to close the door behind them with one hand, shielding them scarcely from the world outside – from prying eyes and worried faces.

There’s a silence upon them, only broken by Owen’s shaky breathing.

“Remember what you told me on the first day I met you?” Judd says, seemingly out of the blue. Owen shakes his head, and Judd chuckles. “For someone with so much wit, you certainly have some memory loss, Cap.” He sobers up a little before continuing. “You said, _the monster’s coming out either way_ , and let me tell you, it does. But you’re not alone. And you’re not going down without a fight.”

Judd knows that Owen’s just paying half a mind to his words, but that’s enough for now. They all have his back – he isn’t alone. He doesn’t need to be, ever again.

No one’s left behind in this family.


	5. a better view

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gwenyth finally sees the old owen she fell in love with

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owen strand, gwenyth strand, tk strand, original child character
> 
> title from _round here_ by counting crows
> 
> mentions of 9/11
> 
> written for [owen strand week 2020](https://owenstrandweek.tumblr.com/post/628378483222085632/owen-strand-week-2020) **day 5: casual friday + owen in casual clothes + papa!owen**

It’s been literal decades since Gwenyth divorced Owen, and he still has some sort of power over her emotions whenever she sees him being someone who’s not focused solely in his job. Gwenyth finds herself missing her old life when she thinks of Owen before the towers fell.

 _Before_ is such a concept she can’t grasp anymore.

She halts before stepping into the living room, hands full with the bowls she’s been asked to bring, smiling fondly as she watches Owen playing with their grandson. It’s taken him years to come back to who he was when she first met him – the ever-almighty Owen Strand wearing jeans and a ripped t-shirt, on the floor roaring like a lion for a three-year-old.

TK comes right behind her, his own expression soft when he takes in the scene. “It’s quite a sight, isn’t it?”

Gwenyth smiles softly. “I’m so glad that he found himself in the end, honey. _This_ is who your father is. This is who _we_ are.”

TK leans in to drop a kiss on her shoulder before entering the room. She takes a minute before following, reveling in the family that, somehow, they have managed to create from chaos.


	6. stand up straight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> carlos gets to understand owen a little bit better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owen strand, carlos reyes
> 
> title from _round here_ by counting crows
> 
> no warnings apply
> 
> written for [owen strand week 2020](https://owenstrandweek.tumblr.com/post/628378483222085632/owen-strand-week-2020) **day 6: business as usual + owen begins + owen in his uniform + owen before season 1**

At first, Carlos can’t fathom what could be the reason why someone like Owen Strand would voluntarily uproot his whole life in a city just like New York to go down to Austin to hep bring the 126 back to life. Captain Strand seems a non-nonsense kind of man, a little bit arrogant if he has to believe Michelle – which he almost never does.

That’s it, until Carlos finds out who Owen Strand really is.

Until he realizes that heroes don’t always wear capes – or helmets, in this case – and they can save lives while wearing a dirty t-shirt and sneakers. Until he realizes that a building collapsing means much more than what the TV shows. Until he meets and falls in love with his son.

There were rumors at first – how Captain Strand had been the lone survivor of a whole station – but Carlos only begins to understand the truth behind the myth the day Owen sits down beside him, after Carlos has asked for his permission to marry TK, and tells him, “Let me tell you about what true love and sacrifice means.”

That’s when he understands – that’s when he starts believing in the legend of Owen Strand.


	7. tired of something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> owen has to leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owen strand
> 
> title from _round here_ by counting crows
> 
>  **MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH** , angst, mentions of hospitals, mentions of cancer, mentions of machines
> 
> written for [owen strand week 2020](https://owenstrandweek.tumblr.com/post/628378483222085632/owen-strand-week-2020) **day 7: free choice**

He looks around and feels loved despite the fluorescent lights that blind him and the beeping sounds of the machines that monitor his vitals even though there’s nothing to save here.

It still feels too soon to be leaving. He feels it in his bones – as exhausted and weary as he is – that time has come to bid his farewell. So he searches for his son, tries to squeeze Zoe’s hand, attempts to smile even if it comes out as a pained grimace.

It hurts, but it will be fine. He knows it.

With a last, tired sigh, he exhales.


End file.
